Determination of pesticides in postmortem blood and bone marrow of pesticide treated rabbits

Traditionally, forensic toxicologic analysis have been focused on the use of blood,body fluids and certain organs, in examination of deaths due to intoxication. However,as in exhumation cases, situations in which purefaction and contamination make propersampling imposible from tissues. In such cases, since bone marrow is a potential depotfor drugs, it might be useful as an altervative specimen. This study was aimed todemonstrate determination of pesticides in postmortem and putrefied bone marrow ofpesticide treated rabbits, so as to reveal diagnostic value of toxicological analysis ofbone marrow in exhumation cases.Out of thirteen rabbits, a dose of 110 mg/kg endosulfan was orally given through agavage tool to six, and a dose of 2500 mg/kg diazinon was given to six by the sameway. As a control, one rabbit was not treated with anything. Venous blood, liver, lung,kidney, brain and bone marrow samples were taken just after spontaneous death ordecapitation of rabits. Later, rabits were buried in soil. All of them were exhumated onemonth later and putrefied viscera and bone marrow were sampled. Blood and tissuesamples were underwent solvent exctraction, solid phase exctraction and analysed byGCMS. Tissue samples were also microscobically examined.Mean residue levels of diazinon in early postmortem samples were 85,14 mg/L,71,08 mg/L, 23,05 mg/L, 20,95 mg/L, 19 mg/L, and 0,40 mg/L in liver, bone marrow,kidney, lung, brain and blood respectively. Mean residue levels of diazinon in purefiedbody were 3327,26 mg/L in putrefied viscera, and 1783,26 mg/L in bone marrow. Meanresidue levels of endosulfan isomers and its metabolites in early postmortem sampleswere quantified as 0,461 mg/L (endosulfan sulfat), 0,315 mg/L (alfa and beta isomers ofendosulfan), and 0,14 mg/L (endosulfan ether). While they were 0,26 mg/L (endosulfansulfat), 0,242 mg/L (alfa and beta isomers of endosulfan), and 0,10 mg/L (endosulfanether) in putrefied samples. On the other hand, neither endosulfan nor diazinon caused acharacteristic hitopathological change in tissue samples.In conclussion, cause of deaths due to acute pesticide poisoning can be determinedby toxicological analysis of samples from bone marrow and purefied viscera inexhumation cases.Key Words: Intoxication, Pesticide, Exhumation, Bone marrow, GC-MS